UAlbany’s Brown loves all that Jazz

UAlbany head coach Will Brown is looking forward to seeing in person the NBA coach he admires most, Jerry Sloan of the Utah Jazz.

Brown said UAlbany has arranged to work out at the Jazz’s practice facility in Salt Lake City on Friday, between games at the University of Utah on Thursday and Utah Valley State on Saturday.

Before UAlbany practices, Brown said, he and his assistants will probably be allowed to watch the Jazz’s closed workout on Friday morning.
It all started when Utah head scout Troy Weaver, a former Syracuse assistant, attended the UAlbany-Harvard game in Cambridge, Mass. on Dec. 12.

“He said, `If you’re interested in practicing at our facility while you’re out there (in Utah), let us know,’‚” Brown recalled. “So we made the call out there.”

Utah entered Saturday’s games with the NBA’s fourth-best record at 19-8, which Brown said is a testament to Sloan’s coaching ability.

“They’re the only team in the NBA, outside of the (Phoenix) Suns, I actually will watch every time they’re on because they run stuff and they’re very well coached,” Brown said. “I think he’s the best coach in the NBA.”

Sloan won his 1,000th career game on Dec. 11, becoming only the fifth coach in NBA history to reach the milestone.

Brown said he hopes to talk with Sloan “for a couple of minutes” either before or after Utah’s practice.

“If I had a chance to talk to him, I’d just ask him about what his philosophy is behind running so many (offensive) sets,” Brown said. “His answer is probably going to be, to be different than everybody else and force teams to prepare for them. You have to prepare for (the Jazz) more than any other team because they do so many different things.”

Brown said retired Utah guard John Stockton was the best player in the NBA at setting screens, a talent he has tried to impress upon his own star, senior guard Jamar Wilson.

“That’s why (Stockton) was always open,” Brown said. “Because if you’re a good screener, you’ll be the guy that’s open because your guy is going to have to help. That’s the one thing I used to talk to the guys about. John Stockton was one of the smallest guys in the league but he was one of the toughest and he was the best screener in the league.

“I always wanted Jamar to become a great screener because I thought it would help him get open.”

Asked if Wilson is good at setting screens, Brown replied, “He’s OK. When he’s focused he’s a good screener. When he’s not, he’s a bad screener. Jamar’s whole game is based on him being focused.”